Behind the Scenes at Bridge City Tool Works

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March, 1st, 2016

I know it must seem like I croaked, or worse, whatever that means, but here I am spewing a little drivel your way…

I just returned from my annual work retreat and since so many of you wonder about how this works, here is a little insight.

Each year, for the past 15 years or so, I have left the office for two weeks to focus on new ideas, most are new tool ideas.

What I look for in a place to stay is a good chair and work surface and typically a good deal on a hotel. The location is meaningless to me other than it is NOT my work or home office.

Once I arrive I set up my CAD workstation, head to the store for food supplies and then settle in for a brainstorming session with myself. A typical work session starts with a “I wonder what would happen if I tried this…” and then, usually by day two, the muse is in full control. It is, without question, the two most important weeks of the year for me. It is so important that I am actually thinking of doing this every six months.

The first thing that happens is the lack of time consciousness. Since there are no phone calls, no people, and I am disconnected from that pesky little thing we call e-mail, it is amazing what one can do creatively in a few short weeks. There are days where I never leave my accommodations and waking up in the middle of the night happens frequently – it always amazes me as to how the subconscious provides ideas that never materialize while awake.

This year I was able to complete five new products during this retreat, and that is about four more than I will be able to do during the next 50 weeks! That is the drag effect of running a business on the creative mind.

Anyway, this week I am wading through all my neglected emails, which of course is so much fun I can barely contain myself…

One day, I did take about an hour and outline a process as to how I can feed the DSN with copious amounts of drivel and I have some ideas….

May, 11th, 2015

Mathematical reasoning may be regarded rather schematically as the exercise of a combination of two facilities, which we may call intuition and ingenuity.
— Alan Turing

Dear Drive Starved Nation:

Inspiration is Everywhere..

I just discovered this video and thought it worth sharing. It’s about making. So don’t freak out when you don’t see any wood.

There is another version where he makes a similar project from wood, but it’s nowhere near as interesting as what he does here. It is particularly fascinating how he uses a three jawed chuck and the proper geometry to make a cube on a metal lathe. This is a perfect example of how math can be taught using a real, mind bending idea. I hope you like it-

-John

PS: His choice of music had me reaching for the mute key.

Inspiration is Everywhere – And how thankful we all are for it to be there!!